Improvement in playing-cards



A. DOUGHERTY. PLAYING-CARDS.

Patented July 18.. 1187 5.

N PETERS, -PMOTo-|.|TnOGRAPflER. WASHINGTON, n. C.

UNITED STATES Parana 1GB.

ANDREW DOUGHERTY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLAYING-CARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179,847, dated July 15,1876; application filed May 31, 1876.

To all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, ANDREW DOUGHERTY, ofBrooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented an ImprovedPlaying-Card, of which the following is the specification:

The'object of my invention is a playingcard which may be used equallywell by different persons, each familiar with but one of the severalkinds of cards in use by different nations.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a face view of one of myimproved playing cards; Fig. 2, a view showing a card of each suit, andFig. 3 a face view of a Spanish card, corresponding to the English cardshown in Fig. 1.

Spanish playing-cards, although possessing the same relative values asthe English cards, also used by the French and Germans, andcorresponding in number and in mode of use to the latter, are designatedby different names and by different face-figures and forms. Forinstance, a Spanish card, corresponding in value to and played in thesame manner as the English deuce of spades, Fig. 1, will be embellishedby two swords, Fig. 3. All Spanish cards, however, contain twodesignating devices: First, the face-figures, as swords, correspondingto English spades, vases, corresponding to English clubs, 850.;secondly, lines at the top, designating the suit, and figures at theleft-hand corner, designating the value. Thus a line, a, Fig. 3,completely across the bottom or top of the card, indicates diamonds, anda figure in the upper left-hand corner denotes the value or number ofspots, the knave, queen, king being numbered 11, 12.13, respectively. Aline, b, with a single break, indicates hearts; a line, 0, with twobreaks, spades; and aline, d, with three breaks, clubs.

Owing to the differences described between English and Spanish cards,players familiar with only one form of card cannot play together.

The objectof my invention is to make a card which parties familiar eachwith but one of the different forms of card, and igno-- rant of theother, can use as readily as the cards to which they are accustomed.

This object I effect by combining in one card the characteristics of thecards in use by different nations. For English players, the faces of thecards are in all essential particulars made to conform to any of thewellknown forms and figures common in cards of this class. For theSpanish players, I add a line at the top, bottom, or sides, and employ adesignating-figure corresponding to the line and figure upon the Spanishcard of the same suit and value. Each card is, therefore, available forready use by those familiar with only the English or only the Spanishform of card.

It will be seen that the Spanish player ascertains the character of hishand by merely exposing the upper edges of his cards one above theother. To give the English player a like advantage, I place a pip, oremblem and number, indicating the suit and value, adjacent to theSpanish number on the card, at the corner outside the border-line;

and in the case of face-cards 1 add a designating-initial, as K, forking, 850. Thus the jack of spades has, adjacent to the figure 11required on the Spanish card, an emblem or pip, representing theconventional spade and theinitial letter J, and so on. The Englishplayer may thus ascertain his hand by exposing merely the cornersoutside the border line.

It will be apparent that the designating features of" cards of othernationalities than English and Spanish may be combined in like manner. a

I am aware that it is not new to place an emblem and figure in thecorner, and do not claim this feature; but

I claim 1. A playing-card, having on its face, and near one or more ofthe corners or edges, two different emblems or devices, which indicate,in modes employed by two different nations, a card of the same suit andvalue, substantially as set forth.

2. A playing-card, having, in combination with the conventionalsuit-emblems on its face, emblems near one or more of its cor- 11ers oredges, indicating, in modes employed by two different nations, a card ofthe same suit and value, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a playing-card, of to this specification in thepresence of two sub the usual faceeemmon to English cards, the scribingwitnesses.

broken lines and figures common to Spanish cards, and other emblemsarranged at the ANDREW DOUGHERTY' corners, indicative of suit and.value, as speci- Witnesses:

fled. EDWARD E. COOPER,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name WILLIAM H, DOUGHERTY.

